The NHL and KHL have an agreement to honor each other’s contracts, and once a new NHL CBA is signed and the lockout ends, Ovechkin would be under contract to the Capitals.

Perhaps the KHL could argue Ovechkin’s NHL contract was violated if the new CBA results in rollbacks or other lost salary. However, not only would that be a tough case to make, it would be fraught with potential consequences, such as the NHL barring its players from the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia.